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Volume 6 December 2000
Ladolcetta CPA, PA. is still
Growing
The firm continues to grow and as a result Don & Patty are experiencing new horizons in accounting and taxes. Thanks to our friends and clients, our office continued to experience great growth.. This is our year in a row where our revenue and client base showed strong increases. An ongoing analysis of our new business continues to reveal that the #1 source of new business comes via referrals from our friends and existing clients. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! We couldn’t do it without you. We can only serve you better if we continue to grow. So, we are asking you once again to help us. Please tell your friends and relatives about our good service. Tell them we do:
1. Income taxes-Personal and Business
2. Payroll taxes-State and Federal
3. Incorporation Service-New Business Start Up
4. Accounting, Bookkeeping
5. Financial Consulting
S. Business Consulting - Web Setup
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Tax Filing Deadline Dates
Because of our growth we expect a real busy tax season. If you want your work to be filed timely, you need to get your materials out to us as soon as possible. Remember, if you are a corporation or business you may need to issue 1099s or W2s by January31 as well as file any quarterly payroll work. You also need to get your
partnership/corporate returns completed by March 15. Personal returns are due April 15. Have mercy on us and get your materials in to us early. If we receive these items late, we may need to put you on extension.
What’s New for 2000!
Interest on student loans.
You may be able to deduct up to $2,000 of interest on a qualified student loan paid within the first five years of’ the loan; this represents a $500 increase over last year.
Standard mileage rates.
For business use of a car, the standard mileage rate is once again 32.5 cents per mile for 2000. It was 32.5 cents per mile for the first quarter of 1999, and then dropped to 31 cents per mile for the remainder of that year.
Nanny tax.
You can pay household help up to $1,200 in 2000
without having to pay Social Security or Medicare for that
person. That’s up from $1,100 in 1999.
Personal exemption amount.
This amount has increased to $2,800 per person for 2000.
Standard deductions.
Standard deduction amounts have increased for 2000, to: singles, $4,400; heads of household, $6,450; married filing jointly, $7,350; and married filing separately, $3,675. If you claim an exemption for a dependent
who has taxable income, his or her standard deduction will still be the greater of $700, or $250 plus his or her earned income.
Year End Tax Planning
There is still time left to reduce your tax bill. Here are some ideas:
Defer income
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Delay sending out bills if you’re self-employed or own a small business.
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Ask your employer to pay year-end bonuses in January instead of December.
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• Defer sale of appreciated assets.
Increase your deductions
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Prepay medical bills in order to meet the required level for the medical deduction
(7.5% of adjusted gross income).
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Prepay child-care expenses.
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Prepay education expenses.
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Prepay mortgage interest.
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Prepay points if you’re buying a house and you won’t close by Dec. 31
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Prepay business-related magazine subscriptions
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Clean out your house and give away old or unused items to charity.
Invest wisely
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Don’t buy a mutual fund shortly before the distribution date.
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Check to make sure you’re still eligible for a Roth IRA if you set up one
earlier in the year.
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Set up a Keogh plan if you’re eligible and it fits in your long-term retirement
program.
Others
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If you have childcare or medical Flexible Spending Accounts, remember to use
all the money by The Plan's year end or you lose it.
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If you’re planning on getting married near the end of the year, delay the wedding until Jan. 1 or after to save taxes.
Your best year-end moves
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Leave low-rate accounts. Americans lose out on $30 billion to $50 billion in interest each year.
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Open a Keogh. Self-employed individuals have until Dec. 31 to open a Keogh tax-deferred retirement account that’s deductible on a 2000 tax return.
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Donate appreciated shares, not cash. If you’re planning to make a charitable donation, you can save more on taxes by giving appreciated stock or mutual fund shares instead of cash.
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Select next year’s investments. If you figure out where you want to put
your bonus and your IRA now, the money will be more likely to get there.
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Review your will, health-care proxy and power of attorney
forms. Make sure you1re still pleased with your choice of executor and guardian. And if you haven’t signed off on this invaluable paperwork, please do it now.
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Back up your computer files. We may not be worried about Y2K anymore, but if you stow financial information on your hard drive, an extra copy couldn’t hurt.
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Clean out your computer’s hard drive and run a virus check. What, you don’t do this all the time?
Thoughts for the Day.
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“If we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.” (Edith Wharton)
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“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” (Bill Cosby)
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“It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.”
(George Washington)
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“Get busy living, or get busy dying.” (Stephen King)
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